On October 10, 2000, while billed as The Prototype, Cena made his World Wrestling Federation debut on a WWF SmackDown taping in a dark match against Mikey Richardson, where he was defeated.[30] He received another tryout on January 9, 2001 at a WWF SmackDown taping in Oakland, California, this time defeating Aaron Aguilera. Cena wrestled again in a dark match at WWF SmackDown tapings on March 13.

Through 2001, Cena would receive 4 more tryouts with the WWF as he wrestled multiple enhancement talent wrestlers in both WWF house shows and dark matches.

Through the early months of 2002, Cena constantly found himself on the losing side of the matches he wrestled in. Yet again wrestling in house shows and dark matches, losing to the likes of Shelton Benjamin and Tommy Dreamer, he had his televised debut against Kurt Angle on August 26 of that same year.

SmackDown and various feuds (2002–2004)

Cena made his WWE television debut on the June 27, 2002 episode of SmackDown! by answering an open challenge by Kurt Angle. After declaring that he possessed "ruthless aggression", Cena gave Angle a hard fight and only lost by a pinning combination. After the match, Cena was congratulated by The Undertaker, Rikishi, Faarooq and Billy Kidman.[35][36]

Shortly after the Kidman attack, on a Halloween themed episode of SmackDown, Cena dressed as Vanilla Ice performing a freestyle rap.[35] The next week, Cena received a new character: a rapper who cut promos while rhyming.[35] As the gimmick grew, Cena began adopting a variant of the 1980s WWF logo – dropping the "F" – as his "signature symbol", along with the slogan "Word Life".[38] Moreover, he was joined by an enforcer, Bull Buchanan, who was rechristened B-2 (also written B² and pronounced "B-Squared").[35] Buchanan was later replaced by Red Dogg,[35] until he was sent to the Raw brand in February.

WWE Championship feuds (2006–2007)

At New Year's Revolution, Cena participated in the main event Elimination Chamber match where he retained the WWE Championship when he pinned Carlito. Immediately after a bloodied Cena won, Edge made his way to the ring to cash in his Money in the Bank contract – a "guaranteed title match for the WWE Champion at a time and place of the owner's choosing." Two quick spears allowed Edge to pin Cena, winning him the championship.[72] Three weeks later, Cena won the championship back at the Royal Rumble.[72] After winning the championship, Cena began feuding with Triple H, which the crowd began booing Cena and cheering the intended villain, Triple H.[73][74] Cena beat Triple H at WrestleMania 22 to retain his WWE Championship.[6] The negative reaction towards Cena intensified when facing Rob Van Dam at One Night Stand. Taking place in front of a boisterous crowd of mostly original ECW fans at the Hammerstein Ballroom, Cena was met with raucous jeering and chants of "Fuck you, Cena", "You can't wrestle", and "Same old shit". When he began performing different moves into the match, the fans began chanting "You still suck". Cena lost the WWE Championship at One Night Stand, with Van Dam pinning Cena after interference from Edge.[75]

In July, Edge won the championship from Van Dam in a Triple Threat match that also involved Cena,[76] re-igniting the feud between him and Cena from earlier in the year. After Edge went about retaining the title by dubious means – getting himself disqualified[77] (for which championships do not change hands) and using brass knuckles[75] – he introduced his own version of Cena's "custom" belt, this one with his logo placed on the spinner.[78] Cena eventually won the championship back in a match and arena of Edge's choice: a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at Unforgiven at the Air Canada Centre in Edge's hometown of Toronto, Ontario, Canada after FU'ing Edge through two tables off a ladder. The match had a stipulation that, had Cena lost, he would have left the Raw brand for SmackDown.[79][80] Cena returned his version of the spinner belt on the next night's Raw.[81]

On the heels of his feud with Edge, Cena was placed in an inter-brand angle to determine the "Champion of Champions" – or which was the most dominant champion in WWE's three brands. Cena, the World Heavyweight ChampionKing Booker, and the ECW World Champion Big Show engaged in a mini-feud leading to a Triple Threat match at Cyber Sunday, with the viewers voting on which of the three championships would be placed on the line.[82] At the same time, Cena became involved in a storyline with non-wrestler Kevin Federline, when he began appearing on Raw with Johnny Nitro and Melina. After getting into a worked physical altercation with Federline on Raw,[82] Federline appeared at Cyber Sunday to hit Cena with the World Heavyweight Championship during the match, helping King Booker retain his championship.[75] 2006 ended with Cena beginning a feud with the undefeated Umaga over the WWE Championship,[83] while 2007 began with the end of his storyline with Kevin Federline. On the first Raw of the new year, Cena was pinned by Federline with an assist from Umaga, although later in the night he was able to get his hands on Federline performing an FU on him.[84]

One night after the Royal Rumble, an impromptu team of Cena and Shawn Michaels defeated Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton) for the World Tag Team Championship, making Cena a double champion.[85] On the April 2 episode of Raw, after losing a WWE Championship match to Cena at WrestleMania 23,[86] Michaels turned on Cena, costing them the championship in the second of two 10 team battles royals, by throwing Cena over the top rope and eliminating the team. The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) eventually won the match and the championship.[87] For the rest of the month, Cena feuded with Michaels, Orton, and Edge until The Great Khali declared his intentions to challenge for Cena's championship attacking and "laying out" all three of the top contenders[88] before assaulting Cena himself and stealing the physical belt.[89] For the next two months, Cena feuded with Khali over the championship, eventually becoming the first person in WWE to defeat him by submission at Judgment Day[90][91] and then by pinfall at One Night Stand.[92][93] Later that summer, Randy Orton was named the number one contender for the WWE championship,[94] starting a feud between the two. Leading up to SummerSlam, Orton delivered a number of sneak-attacks, performing three RKOs to Cena, but in the actual match, Cena retained the championship.[95] A rematch between the two occurred at Unforgiven, with Orton winning by disqualification after Cena ignored the referee's instructions and continued to beat on him in the corner.[96]

During a match with Mr. Kennedy on the October 1, 2007 episode of Raw, Cena suffered a legitimate torn pectoral muscle while executing a hip toss.[97] Though finishing the match and taking part in the scripted attack by Randy Orton after the match, surgery the following day found that his pectoralis major muscle was torn completely from the bone, estimating at the time to require seven months to a year of rehabilitation.[98][99] As a result, Cena was stripped of the title by Vince McMahon on the next night's episode of ECW,[100] ending what was the longest WWE Championship reign in over 19 years.[101] Cena's surgery was performed by orthopedic surgeon James Andrews at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.[97] Two weeks later, in a video update on WWE.com, Dr. Andrews and Cena's physical trainer both said that he was several weeks ahead of where he was expected to be in his rehabilitation at that time.[102] Despite his injury, Cena attended the annual WWE Tribute to the Troops show filmed at Camp Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq on December 7, and aired on December 24.[103]

Cena made his in-ring return at the November pay-per-view event, Survivor Series, defeating Chris Jericho to win his first World Heavyweight Championship.[119] The two continued their rivalry up to Armageddon, where Cena retained his championship.[120] Cena lost the championship at No Way Out, to Edge after Kofi Kingston was attacked by Edge, who took his place in the Elimination Chamber match.[121] Cena was given an opportunity to regain the title at WrestleMania XXV in a Triple Threat match also involving Big Show, which Cena won.[122]

Feud with The Nexus (2010–2011)

On the June 7, 2010 episode of Raw, Cena was suddenly thrust into a new storyline when during his main event match against CM Punk, he was attacked by all eight former contestants of the first season of NXT, with Wade Barrett as their leader. Punk, his follower Luke Gallows, and other personnel around the ring were attacked as well, but Cena took the worst of the attack and was carried out on a stretcher. This group later referred to itself as The Nexus.[136] At Fatal 4-Way, Cena lost the WWE Championship to Sheamus, in a fatal four-way match involving Edge and Randy Orton, after The Nexus interfered.[137] Cena again lost to Sheamus, in a steel cage match, at Money in the Bank, after The Nexus again interfered.[138] Cena, in retaliation to The Nexus, formed an alliance with Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, R-Truth, The Great Khali, and Bret Hart. They defeated The Nexus at SummerSlam, with help from the returning Daniel Bryan, a former member of Nexus, who replaced Khali after he was injured.[139]

Hoping to end The Nexus, Cena challenged Wade Barrett to a match at Hell in a Cell with the stipulations that if he were to lose, he would join The Nexus. After Barrett defeated Cena, he joined The Nexus,[140] and was forced by the Raw GM to follow their orders or be fired. Cena and fellow Nexus member David Otunga defeated Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre to win the Tag Team Championship at Bragging Rights.[141] Later, he was forced to help Barrett defeat Orton in a championship match, giving Barrett the disqualification win.[141] The next day, Cena and Otunga lost the Tag Team Championship to fellow Nexus members Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel, when Barrett ordered Otunga to lay down and lose the title.[142] At Survivor Series, Cena officiated a match for the WWE Championship between Wade Barrett and Randy Orton. Per stipulation, if Barrett didn't win the championship, Cena would be fired from the WWE.

Orton defeated Barrett to retain the title, thus terminating Cena's WWE contract.[143] The following day on Raw, Cena gave a farewell speech, before costing Wade Barrett the WWE Championship by interfering in his rematch with Randy Orton.[144] A week later, Cena invaded Raw, first as a spectator, but then attacked members of Nexus, explaining that he would still take down Nexus one by one, despite not having a job in the WWE anymore.[145] On the December 13 episode of Raw, Cena was rehired by Barrett, in exchange that he would face him on December 19 at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs in a Chairs match,[146] which Cena won.

On the December 27 episode of Raw, The Nexus, minus Barrett, announced they were under new management and offered to bury the hatchet with Cena, to which he refused. The Nexus attacked Cena, leaving a Nexus armband in the ring during the process. As the group retreated, CM Punk, who had attacked Cena with a steel chair twice the week before, came to the ring to apparently attack Cena, but instead put on the armband left behind to symbolically announce his allegiance with The Nexus, becoming leader the following week by manipulating Barrett's banishment from the group.[147][148] On the January 17 episode of Raw, Cena returned and faced Punk in a match, which ended in a no-contest after Cena was attacked by the debuting Mason Ryan, who later joined the Nexus. Cena competed in the 2011 Royal Rumble match at the pay-per-view, which saw Cena eliminate most of the Nexus, ending his feud with the stable.

Record-breaking WWE Champion (2011–2013)

During the same match at the Rumble, Cena made it to the final five before being eliminated by WWE Champion The Miz, who wasn't part of the match. At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Cena won the chamber match to face Miz at WrestleMania XXVII for the WWE Championship.[149]

On the February 21 episode of Raw, Cena replied to The Rock's comments about him from the previous week in rap form, as The Rock returned as the announced guest host of WrestleMania. That night, Cena was placed into a WWE Tag Team Championship match, with him teaming with The Miz, where they defeated Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater to become WWE Tag Team Champions. After the match, Wade Barrett invoked Gabriel and Slater's rematch clause straight away, where they won their titles back after The Miz attacked Cena.[150] Cena and The Rock continued to feud, on-air and through social networks. After weeks of insults, they finally met face-to-face. Cena denied The Rock's claim to truly "love" the WWE, claiming that he used WWE only to jumpstart his acting career, a claim which Johnson angrily refuted. After a brief attack by The Miz and Alex Riley, Cena hit The Rock with the Attitude Adjustment.[151] At WrestleMania, Cena and Miz fought to a double countout. The Rock restarted the match and hit Cena with a Rock Bottom, allowing The Miz to retain.[152] The next night on Raw, Cena, in response to The Rock "screwing" him out of the title, agreed to face him in the main event of WrestleMania XXVIII, making it the first match to be set up for WrestleMania one year in advance. At Extreme Rules, Cena defeated The Miz and John Morrison to become WWE Champion.[152] Cena went on to successfully defend the title against The Miz at Over the Limit in an "I Quit" match[153] and R-Truth at Capitol Punishment.[154]

Cena then began a feud with CM Punk, who was leaving the company at Money in the Bank. Punk was enraged at Cena and The Rock, calling them "phonies", already booked to headline the next WrestleMania, and demanded change. At Money in the Bank, CM Punk defeated Cena to win the WWE Championship, and left the company with the title.[155][156][157] After Rey Mysterio was crowned WWE Champion, Cena challenged and defeated him later that night to become WWE Champion for a record-breaking ninth time,[158] only to be interrupted by CM Punk, who also claimed to be champion. Punk again defeated Cena at SummerSlam in a title unification match.[159] After Alberto Del Rio became WWE Champion by cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase, Cena became number one contender and beat Del Rio at Night of Champions to become WWE Champion for the tenth time.[160] He lost it back to Del Rio at Hell in a Cell, in a Triple Threat Hell in a Cell match also involving CM Punk.[161] Cena lost his rematch to Alberto Del Rio at Vengeance in a Last Man Standing match, due to interference by The Miz and R-Truth.[162] After a few weeks of Miz and Truth attacking Cena and other employees, Cena was allowed to choose his partner to challenge Miz and Truth at Survivor Series. Cena chose The Rock as his partner. Leading up to Survivor Series, Cena and The Rock continued to verbally assault each other, reiterating their points for their WrestleMania match, while attacking the "Awesome Truth". At the pay-per-view, after Cena and Rock defeated Miz and Truth, Rock gave Cena another Rock Bottom.[163]

On the December 12 Raw, during his match with Mark Henry, Cena was attacked by the returning Kane.[164] Cena then began a feud with Kane, who continually attacked him,[165] crediting his disgust for Cena's "Rise Above Hate" slogan and that Cena would need to embrace the hate in order to defeat The Rock at Wrestlemania.[166] Cena fought Kane to a draw at the Royal Rumble,[167] and then defeated him in an Ambulance match at Elimination Chamber.[168]

After Elimination Chamber, Cena and The Rock verbally attacked each other. At WrestleMania XXVIII, Cena faced The Rock in the main event match which had been building for a year and was billed as "once in a lifetime". Cena claimed the match was the most important of his life and that winning was a necessity, since nobody remembers second place. The match ended when Cena attempted the People's Elbow on The Rock, and The Rock countered with a Rock Bottom for the pin.[169]

Brock Lesnar faces off with Cena after his return in April 2012

The following night on Raw, Cena addressed The Rock, admitting defeat and accepting the loss at WrestleMania; Cena then called The Rock the greatest WWE wrestler ever and invited The Rock to the ring so that he could congratulate him. However, Cena's call was answered instead by the returning Brock Lesnar, who then attacked Cena with an F-5.[170][171] This resulted in Cena feuding with the RawGeneral ManagerJohn Laurinaitis, who revealed that he signed Lesnar to bring "legitimacy" to WWE and for Lesnar to become its "new face".[172][173][174] On April 29 at Extreme Rules, Cena defeated Lesnar in an Extreme Rules match.[175] The next night on Raw, Cena was confronted and then attacked by Laurinaitis, who declared himself Cena's opponent at Over the Limit.[176] Cena lost to Laurinaitis after Big Show interfered.[177] Laurinaitis added that Cena would face Show at No Way Out and, dependent on the winner, either Cena or Laurinaitis would be fired.[178] Cena won the match, then hit the Attitude Adjustment on Laurinaitis through the announce table. Vince McMahon then fired Laurinaitis.[179]

At Money in the Bank, Cena won his first Money in the Bank ladder match over Big Show, Chris Jericho, Kane and The Miz, earning a contract for a shot at the WWE Championship anytime within a year.[180] At Raw 1000, Cena cashed in his contract on CM Punk, and won the match by disqualification after Big Show interfered, becoming the first person to cash in a Money in the Bank contract and not win a title.[181][182] Show continued to attack Cena until The Rock arrived to make the save.[183] The following week on Raw, a WWE Championship number one contenders match between Cena and Show ended in a no contest due to interference from Punk. Following this, both men were entered in the championship match at SummerSlam by Raw General Manager AJ Lee.[184] At the event, Cena was unsuccessful as Punk would go on to retain the title once more.[185] Over the next few weeks, Cena continued feuding with Punk by refusing to call him "best in the world" and fighting him to a draw at Night of Champions on September 16.[186] On September 20, Cena was sidelined with a legitimate arm injury, rendering him inactive.[187] Because of his injury, Cena was replaced by Ryback in a Hell in a Cell match for the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell.[188] On the November 5 Raw, Cena and Ryback were announced as part of a Triple Threat match for Punk's WWE Championship at Survivor Series, while also starting a feud with Dolph Ziggler over an alleged relationship with AJ Lee.[189] At the pay-per-view on November 19, Punk pinned Cena in the match to retain the championship.[190] Cena continued to feud with Ziggler and on December 16, at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, lost to him in a ladder match for his World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank contract, after AJ turned on Cena.[191] The following night on Raw, Cena teamed with Vickie Guerrero to face Ziggler and AJ in a mixed tag team match, however, the match ended in a disqualification after Cena was attacked by the débuting Big E Langston.[192] Cena then defeated Ziggler on the January 7, 2013 episode of Raw in a singles match, and again in a steel cage match the following week, despite interference from AJ and Langston in both matches.[193][194]

On January 27, Cena entered the Royal Rumble match at #19 and won after last eliminating Ryback, becoming the fourth wrestler (after Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin) to win multiple Rumble matches.[195] The following night on Raw, Cena announced that he would pursue the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 29, after which, he would be assaulted by The Shield.[196] The following week on Raw, Cena would gain vengeance on the Shield when he, along with Ryback and Sheamus, attacked the stable.[197] This culminated in a six-man tag team match on February 17 at Elimination Chamber, where the Shield emerged victorious.[198] On the February 25 Raw, Cena defeated CM Punk to reaffirm his status as number one contender for the Rock's WWE Championship.[199] Cena then returned to his rivalry with The Rock, with Cena blaming his personal and professional troubles on his loss to the Rock the previous year, going so far as admitting his own vanity had cost him the match.[200][201] On April 7 at WrestleMania 29, Cena defeated Rock in their rematch to win his eleventh WWE Championship.[202] The following night on Raw, Cena began a rivalry with Ryback, after he saved Cena from a post-match assault from Mark Henry only to attack Cena himself.[203][204] During his feud with Ryback, Cena suffered a legitimate achilles tendon injury,[205] while also battling the Shield and facing them in losing efforts.[206][207][208] On May 19 at Extreme Rules, Cena retained the WWE Championship against Ryback in a Last Man Standing Match after Ryback rammed Cena and himself into the electric backdrop at the top of the ramp, resulting in a no contest.[209] On June 16 at Payback, Cena defeated Ryback in a 3 Stages of Hell match to retain the WWE Championship, with Cena losing the Lumberjack match and winning the Tables match and the Ambulance match.[210] The following night on Raw, Cena was attacked by the returning Mark Henry, who feigned his "retirement", with World's Strongest Slam, sparking a rivalry between the two.[211] On July 15 at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Cena defeated Henry via submission to retain the WWE Championship.[212] The next night on Raw, new Raw general manager Brad Maddox announced that he would allow Cena to choose his own opponent for SummerSlam. Later in the night, after taking an informal poll of the live audience, he chose Daniel Bryan.[213] On August 18 at the pay-per-view, Cena lost the WWE Championship to Bryan, with Triple H as the special guest referee, ending his reign at 133 days.[214] The following night on Raw, Cena announced that he would undergo surgery for a triceps tear and would be out for four to six months.[215]

Championship pursuits and various feuds (2013–2015)

On the October 7 episode of Raw, it was announced that Cena would return at Hell in a Cell for an opportunity at the World Heavyweight Championship.[216] Cena defeated Del Rio at the pay-per-view on October 27 to win his third World Heavyweight title.[217] The following night on Raw, Cena defeated Damien Sandow in his first title defense after Sandow attacked Cena before the match and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract.[218] Cena successfully defended his title against Del Rio at Survivor Series.[219]

On the November 25 episode of Raw, Cena challenged WWE Champion Randy Orton to unify their respective championships, with The Authority agreeing and arranging for a Tables, Ladders & Chairs title unification match at the TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view, which Cena lost.[220] A rematch occurred at the Royal Rumble for the unified WWE World Heavyweight title, where Cena lost after being distracted by the Wyatt Family.[221] The next night on Raw, John Cena, Sheamus and Daniel Bryan won an Elimination Chamber qualifying match against the Shield by disqualification due to another attack by the Wyatts.[222] At Elimination Chamber, the Wyatt Family interfered yet again in the Elimination Chamber match, causing Cena's elimination.[223]

"I know how John Cena feuds tend to work. He loses one match, then wins the next two or three. Look at Rusev and Bray Wyatt as examples. These feuds don't really help talent. They're .. established as definitively below Cena. This is a running theme in WWE booking. Owens is ... worse off than he would have been if he had never had the second and third matches with Cena."

After Elimination Chamber, Bray Wyatt accepted Cena's challenge for a WrestleMania match,[225] Wyatt wanted to prove that Cena's heroic act was a facade characteristic of "this era of lies" while further wanting to turn Cena into a "monster".[226][227] At WrestleMania XXX, Cena successfully resisted the urge to become a "monster" and overcame interference from Luke Harper and Erick Rowan to defeat Wyatt.[228] The feud continued after WrestleMania based on the story that Wyatt was capturing Cena's fanbase, which was exemplified by Wyatt leading a children's choir to the ring on the April 28 episode of Raw, with the children later putting on sheep masks.[229] At Extreme Rules, Wyatt defeated Cena in a Steel cage match, after repeated interference from the rest of the Wyatt Family and a demonic child.[230] Cena's feud with Wyatt continued with a Last Man Standing match being set up for Payback. At the pay-per-view, Cena buried Wyatt under multiple equipment cases to win the match.[231]

On the June 16 episode of Raw, Cena defeated Kane in a Stretcher match to qualify for the ladder match at Money in the Bank for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship. At the pay-per-view, Cena won the title, which would be his 15th world championship.[232] Cena then retained the title at Battleground in a four-way match against Roman Reigns, Randy Orton and Kane.[233] At SummerSlam, Cena lost the championship to Brock Lesnar in a Squash match, during which Lesnar hit Cena with sixteen suplexes and two F-5s, ending his reign at only 49 days.[234] Cena invoked his title rematch clause against Lesnar for Night of Champions, nearly winning before Seth Rollins attacked him to cause a disqualification.[235] Cena then began feuding with Dean Ambrose for the right to face Rollins at Hell in a Cell, but Ambrose got that right after beating Cena in a No Holds Barred Contract on a Pole match. Cena would instead face Randy Orton in a Hell in a Cell match to determine the number one contender to face Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which Cena won.[236]

On October 27 episode of Raw, Cena rejected the Authority's offer to join forces. This resulted in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination tag match between Team Cena and Team Authority at Survivor Series.[237] Cena's team consisted of Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Erick Rowan and Ryback; At Survivor Series, Big Show turned on Cena, causing Cena's elimination, but Ziggler eventually won the match for Team Cena with the interfering Sting's help. Thus as per the match stipulation, the Authority were stripped from power and only Cena could bring them back.[238] At TLC: Tables, Ladders, Chairs and Stairs, Cena defeated Rollins in a Tables match to retain his WWE World Heavyweight Championship #1 contender status. It was then announced that Cena would face Lesnar for the title at the Royal Rumble.[239] On the December 29 episode of Raw, Rollins and Big Show held guest host Edge hostage, forcing Cena to reinstate the Authority.[240] On the January 5 episode of Raw, The Authority added Rollins to the title match at the Royal Rumble involving Cena and Lesnar and Ziggler, Ryback and Rowan were fired for joining Team Cena at Survivor Series.[241] On the 19 January episode of Raw, Cena won a handicap match against Rollins, Big Show and Kane to retain his title shot at the Royal Rumble and win back the jobs of Ziggler, Ryback and Rowan. At the Royal Rumble, Cena was unsuccessful in capturing the title.[242]

United States Champion (2015–present)

Cena after defeating Rusev for the United States Championship.

Following the Royal Rumble, Cena began feuding with the United States ChampionRusev. In the beginning of the feud, Cena was depicted as an "old veteran". At Fastlane, Rusev won after Cena passed out to Rusev's submission, the Accolade, after Rusev hit Cena with a low blow following a distraction from his manager Lana.[243] In the following weeks, Cena challenged Rusev to a rematch, which was declined. Stephanie McMahon decreed that Cena would not compete at WrestleMania 31 unless Rusev agreed to a match.[244] On the March 9 episode of Raw, Cena attacked Rusev, refusing to release the STF submission hold even though Rusev tapped out. This continued until Lana granted Cena a title rematch at WrestleMania against Rusev.[245] At the event, Cena pinned Rusev to win the United States Championship for the fourth time, marking Rusev's first pinfall loss.[246] The following night on Raw, Cena announced that he would issue an open challenge each week on Raw with his United States Championship on the line; he successfully defend his title against the likes of Dean Ambrose, Stardust, Bad News Barrett, Kane, Sami Zayn, Neville, Zack Ryder and Cesaro. On the April 2 episode of SmackDown, Rusev invoked his rematch clause to face Cena for the title at Extreme Rules; It was later announced that their match would be a Russian Chain match. Cena defeated Rusev at the event, but it was later announced that Cena would once again defend the title against Rusev in an "I Quit" match at Payback,[247] which Cena controversially won when Lana told the referee Rusev said he quit in Bulgarian.[248] The following night, Cena was attacked by NXT ChampionKevin Owens, setting up a Champion vs. Champion match between Cena and Owens at Elimination Chamber. Owens defeated Cena, but Cena defeated Owens in a rematch at Money in the Bank.[249][250] Cena then defeated Owens at Battleground to retain the United States Championship and end the feud.[251]

On the July 20 episode of Raw, Cena issued a challenge to Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which Rollins refused.[252] The following week, Cena again issued a challenge to Rollins for the title, with The Authority this time refusing the match, instead making Cena defend his United States Championship against Rollins. Later that night, Cena retained his title against Rollins, suffering a legitimate broken nose during the match.[253][254]

Other media

Film

WWE Studios, a division of WWE which produces and finances motion pictures, produced Cena's first movie — The Marine, which was distributed theatrically by 20th Century Fox America beginning on October 13, 2006. In its first week, the film made approximately US$7 million at the United States box office.[255] After ten weeks in theaters, the film grossed $18.7 million.[255] Once the film was released on DVD, it fared better, making $30 million in rentals in the first twelve weeks.[255]

Cena filming on the set of 12 Rounds

His second film, also produced by WWE Studios, was 12 Rounds.[256] Filming began on February 25, 2008 in New Orleans;[256][257] the film was released on March 27, 2009.

Cena co-starred in his third film produced by WWE Studios, titled Legendary, which was played in selected theaters starting on September 10, 2010, for a limited time,[258] then it was released on DVD on September 28, 2010.[259]

Television

In 2001, between his training in Ultimate Pro Wrestling and Ohio Valley Wrestling,[24] Cena was involved in the UPN produced reality show Manhunt. Cena portrayed Big Tim Kingman, leader of the group of bounty hunters who chased down the contestants who acted as fugitives. The show, however, was mired in controversy when it was alleged that the portions of the show were rigged to eliminate certain players, scenes were re-shot or staged to enhance drama and contestants read from scripts.[270][271][272]

In 2007, Cena was interviewed for the CNN Special Investigations Unit documentary, Death Grip: Inside Pro Wrestling, which focused on steroid and drug use in professional wrestling. When asked if he had taken steroids he was heard to reply, "I can't tell you that I haven't, but you'll never prove that I have."[275] The day after the documentary aired, WWE accused CNN of taking Cena's comments out of context to present a biased point of view, backing up their claim by posting an unedited video of Cena answering the same question – filmed by WWE cameras from another angle – in which he is heard beginning the same statement with "absolutely not".[276] A text interview on the website with Cena later had him saying the news outlet should apologize for misrepresenting him,[277] which CNN refused, saying they felt the true answer to the question began with the phrase "my answer to that question".[278] They did, however, edit the documentary on subsequent airings to include the "absolutely not".[278]

Make-A-Wish Foundation

Cena signing merchandise for a young fan

Cena posing with children

Cena has granted over 400 wishes for Arizona children with life-threatening illnesses through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, making him the current record holder.[281][282][283] In 2009, Cena received the Chris Greicius Celebrity Award.[284]

Endorsements

Cena at Fort Bragg on December 9, 2011

Before his professional wrestling career, Cena appeared in an advertisement for Gold's Gym. As a wrestler he has endorsed the energy drink YJ Stinger,[285] appearing in commercials beginning in October 2003, and Subway,[286] for whom he filmed advertisements with their spokesperson Jared Fogle in November 2006 that began airing the next January. For a time in 2007 he also endorsed two "signature collections" of energy drinks and energy bars sold by American Body Builders.[287] In 2008, Cena filmed a commercial as part of Gillette's "Young Guns" NASCAR campaign.[288]

In 2009, Cena expanded his relationship with Gillette by introducing a new online campaign called "Be A Superstar" featuring himself alongside fellow WWE wrestlers Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes. The campaign features motivational videos.[289]

Fashion

For the extent of his WWE career, Cena's attire has attempted to reflect the most current fashions and stylings within the hip hop culture that his character represents. Cena started out wearing "throwback jerseys" until WWE produced specific Cena merchandise which he began wearing.[290] While Cena was a member of the SmackDown! brand, one of his WWE produced T-shirts bore the suggestive spoonerism "Ruck Fules". Whenever it appeared on television the image was censored, not by the network, but by WWE to sell more shirts under the premise that it was "too hot for TV."[291] He also wore a chain with a large padlock, occasionally using it as a weapon,[292] until WrestleMania 21, when it was replaced with a chromed and diamond studded "Chain Gang" spinner medallion—reminiscent of the ones worn by members of G-Unit—matching his spinner title belt.

Around the time The Marine was released, Cena began wearing attire more military related, including camouflage shorts, dog tags, a Marine soldier cap and a WWE produced shirt with the legend "Chain Gang Assault Battalion."[293] Shortly after WrestleMania 23, when promotion for The Marine ended, the military attire diminished and was replaced with apparel bearing his new slogan "American Made Muscle" along with denim shorts, not seen since he was a member of the SmackDown roster.[294] He then wore shirts that promoted Cenation and his trademark line "You Can't See Me". From late 2011 until Wrestlemania XXVIII, Cena again switched to camo shorts (honoring the U.S. Armed Forces), to coincide with his black "Rise Above Hate" T-shirt promoting WWE's "Be a Star" anti-bullying campaign. On September 16, 2012, Cena débuted a new pink and black T-shirt and cap combo with the phrase "Rise Above Cancer" that he wore through October in partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure in honor of breast cancer awareness month.

Cena's debut album, You Can't See Me, was recorded with his cousin Tha Trademarc. It features, amongst other songs, his entrance theme, "The Time is Now", and the single "Bad, Bad Man", for which a music video was made that parodied 1980s culture, including the television show The A-Team. A video was also made for the second single, "Right Now," and premiered on the August 8 Raw. Cena and Tha Trademarc were later featured on a track by The Perceptionists named "Champion Scratch." Cena will appear on Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins' upcoming album Still Cool featuring other guests.[296]

In October 2014, Cena was featured on two songs with rapper Wiz Khalifa for his two singles "All Day" and "Breaks" for the soundtrack to the WWE 2K15 video game.[297]

While promoting his 2009 film, 12 Rounds, Cena announced his engagement[305][306] to his girlfriend Elizabeth Huberdeau. They were married on July 11, 2009. On May 1, 2012, Cena filed for divorce,[307] which was finalized on July 18.[308] In November 2012, TMZ reported that Cena is dating WWE Diva Nikki Bella.[309]

^Scaia, Rick. "RAW results – March 20, 2006". Online Onslaught. Retrieved July 10, 2007. For Cena's initial entrance, it's high pitched squeals, and the requisite 40–50% boos ... there were significant cheers for Trips, which is the REAL issue in play, here.

^"RAW results – April 2, 2006". Online Onslaught. Retrieved July 10, 2007. What [Cena] hears is the same thing he heard last night: 10,000 lustily booing the hell out of him, and maybe 5,000 frantically cheering to try to match that volume level.

^Dee, Louie (May 20, 2007). "Judgment Day 2007 Results: Goliath goes down". WWE. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved July 6, 2007. It was truly an impressive (and improbable) victory for the WWE Champion, magnified even more by the fact that he made Khali do something he’d never done before: tap out.